Old Broken Crayons? Not Anymore!

I love coloring. All of my best creative ideas come while I’m coloring on the pages of my day planner, or the grocery list, or my husband’s left arm. I have tins and tins of crayons that I’ve collected throughout the years. I am, also, a crayon purist. Once a crayon breaks, I throw it in the tin and it is officially “out of commision.” After realizing that these crayons are just as good as the unbroken ones, I started thinking about how I could breathe new life into them. That’s how I came up with the idea to make new crayons out of old ones, with the help of some silicone molds.

Making old crayons new again is easy. All you need to start off is a collection of old, broken crayons without their wrappers. Put them into piles by color (all the blues together), by complimentary (purples and yellows, reds and greens, blues and oranges), or by whichever looks best. Break them down into smaller peices, which will make it easier to put into the molds. Speaking of the mold, the best ones to use are silicone. They are pliable, so it will be easier to get your new crayons out after baking. They come in all kinds of shapes, from hearts and stars to the alphabet.

Once you have your crayons in the molds how you like them, preheat the oven to 150 degrees F. Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking frequently to make sure they are not smoking. After baking, set the molds somewhere to cool. Once the mold and the crayons are cool to the touch you can pop them right out. Let them cool for an additional 5 minutes. Once they’re completely cooled, you have a brand new set of creative crayons!

This is a great DIY project to do with kids to teach them about recycling. Recycling is more than just paper and glass getting a new use at a recycling center, it is about reusing every day items to their fullest potential and making less waste. Teaching them this practical tool in a fun, creative fashion will help them to remember it in the future.

19 Responses to Old Broken Crayons? Not Anymore!

We have the Crayola Crayon Maker, which allows us to do this same thing but end up with actual crayon shapes. It also has ‘fun’ shapes like boats and trucks. And because it’s enclosed, kids can do it more on their own without needing to use an oven, etc.

HOWEVER, it doesn’t seem to be made anymore and I can’t get additional molds for it. And we’d love to do more with our crayons — it’s still great for making true-stick crayons, but we’d love to do something fun.

So, thank you so much for these instructions! We’ll definitely be seeking out some fun silicone molds and trying it out. 🙂

We have the Crayola Crayon Maker, which allows us to do this same thing but end up with actual crayon shapes. It also has ‘fun’ shapes like boats and trucks. And because it’s enclosed, kids can do it more on their own without needing to use an oven, etc.

HOWEVER, it doesn’t seem to be made anymore and I can’t get additional molds for it. And we’d love to do more with our crayons — it’s still great for making true-stick crayons, but we’d love to do something fun.

So, thank you so much for these instructions! We’ll definitely be seeking out some fun silicone molds and trying it out. 🙂

We have the Crayola Crayon Maker, which allows us to do this same thing but end up with actual crayon shapes. It also has ‘fun’ shapes like boats and trucks. And because it’s enclosed, kids can do it more on their own without needing to use an oven, etc.

HOWEVER, it doesn’t seem to be made anymore and I can’t get additional molds for it. And we’d love to do more with our crayons — it’s still great for making true-stick crayons, but we’d love to do something fun.

So, thank you so much for these instructions! We’ll definitely be seeking out some fun silicone molds and trying it out. 🙂

WE used to do a similar thing but make candles out of them: peel crayons and break them up how you like. Then put them in a mould with appropriate size wick through the centre, and pour another colour of wax over them to fill the gaps. Let cool and Presto!

WE used to do a similar thing but make candles out of them: peel crayons and break them up how you like. Then put them in a mould with appropriate size wick through the centre, and pour another colour of wax over them to fill the gaps. Let cool and Presto!

WE used to do a similar thing but make candles out of them: peel crayons and break them up how you like. Then put them in a mould with appropriate size wick through the centre, and pour another colour of wax over them to fill the gaps. Let cool and Presto!